GM: OnStar RemoteLink for Windows Phone might not work with all vehicles, may require user to re-pair

We first reported about an OnStar app for Windows Phone in development back in early April. It took four and a half months, but last week the official OnStar RemoteLink app for Windows Phone hit the Store. The comment section in that article showed a lot of you with Camaros, Silverados, and other cars from General Motors as happy campers. But does it work for all OnStar equipped vehicles?

USA Today has a nice piece on the new app. Once you get past the regular mistakes a traditional news outlet has when talking about Windows Phone (like calling it a Windows phone, which makes me twitch for some reason), you have a nice article on the app and the platform itself. You also learn a few things about the OnStar app, like how it’s the first remote telemetry app from an automaker that works on the four primary mobile operating systems – iOS, Android, Blackberry, and Windows Phone.

Unfortunately, you also learn some things about the app that a few of you might not be jazzed about. The app might not work with a few car models that work fine on the iOS or Android version of RemoteLink. This apparently is because GM didn’t see the rise of Windows Phone and therefore didn’t account for its existence when the auto software was loaded onto vehicles.

How and why this is a technical problem is beyond me, but that’s what GM has told USA Today. Problems that may arise include the inability to hold a solid connection and requiring users to re-pair the app on Windows Phone or just plain incapability with the vehicle.

So how was the experience been for those of you with a GM vehicle, required OnStar subscription, and the RemoteLink app for Windows Phone? Feel free to share the model/year of your vehicle and whether or not it works with the Windows Phone version of the app.

Want to grab OnStar RemoteLink for Windows Phone? Get it in the Store, use the QR code below, or swipe to the right in our WPCentral app. It’s a free app, but you’ll need a car from GM with OnStar to get any use out of it.

Doesn't work on my 2010 Camaro. The OnStar system in my car is 1 generation older than what they built the app to support.
I've been trying to get a response from someone to let me know if I upgrade the OnStar module will it work with the car / app... no luck so far on that.

I have a 2010 Camaro as well. OnStar has been saying "possibly in the future" for the last 4 years. I don't anticipate it will ever happen. We just got the early version in our cars and now we're just the bastard children. For us, it's sorta like the folks here that complain they don't get any love for their WP 7.5 phones. Fortunetly for them, its less costly to upgrade a phone than it is a car.

Agree on the interface. Would like to see more metro and have the live tile give the status of the car. Doors locked, engine running when remote start is used, and low tire pressure and oil change due. Other than that I am happy to have an app finally. Sending Nav to my ATS before I even get in the car is awesome as well. Just get in the car and go.

Sam- Love my ATS. Distinct styling and very fun to drive. Have mine in performance package and black diamond paint. Add in tinted windows and you have one great looking ride.

I have a Volt and it works pretty good actually. Has all the features I used to use on the iOS app. Its a little slow but still faster than on the iPhone4s when I start them at the same time. I have it text me if I am charging and the electric outlet is removed and it emails me when fully charged.

Ha! Good luck. I have a 2013 Ford Escape with Sync. You'd think Microsoft product + Microsoft product would be a good mix, but it's sketchy at best. Basics like Bluetooth calling work. Using the speech features in WP, you can have incoming text messages read and reply to them using speech, but you can't start a new text through Sync. The phone is not recognized as a media player if you plug it in to the vehicle's USB port. (I'm not even sure if it actually charges... need to do more testing.) Bluetooth audio streaming (music) works... mostly... with some sporadic quirks.
I would say the experience is not up to what I'd expect, although the basic functions do work.

I have a Ford Fusion with WP 8 and it works perfectly. The only issue is that Microsoft Sync only has a client for iPhone, Droid and Blackberry. It is unbelievable to me that they don't have an app for their own device. The phone works great with everything except the app. Would be great to be able to push addresses to the GPS from the app, etc. Bluetooth, music, etc. all work. Time to write an app Microsoft.

As I understand it, Sync is a Ford Product. Ford owns it but Microsoft was involved and likely written to Fords request. That probably why. You would that that MS would have said "hey, what about WP support!?"

Well, understandable. GM's software designers just didn't see WP as a major platform and thus, didn't fully prepare the system for it. I can understand that. Nothing an update can't cure.

What really bothers me though is the lack of support from Microsoft's sync. They just couldn't update a Microsoft product to work with another Microsoft product? Do they not see what's wrong with that?

Other systems need work too. Hyundai/Kia rigs work well and tie decently into TellMe but the connectivity can be a little shoddy. It'd be nice if carmakers adhered strictly to software standards. They wouldn't have to scramble to support other stuff later on then.

Works great in my 2013 Cadillac ATS with my N920. From what I understand 2010 vehicles have an older generation of Onstar that is an issue with all platforms and not just WP8. The earlier Onstar modules installed are simply limited in their capabilities. There was talk about upgrading the modules but being that they need to be heavily integrated into the car systems from the start, it didn't sound promising.